


Breathe

by ElegantMess



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Mermaids au, marvel AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 22:09:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11564319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElegantMess/pseuds/ElegantMess
Summary: She went to the ocean for peace, to soothe her lonely soul. Meeting him there had not been her plan, but it seemed fate had other ideas.





	Breathe

Breathe…

Just breathe…

In and out like the steady lap of the waves on the sand. The warm breeze wrapped around her bare shoulders. 

Breathe in the familiar smell of the salt spray. The warm night air was full of the sounds of the coast, the crash of the waves, the cries of seagulls, and night sounds too, cricket’s songs and other nocturnal animals stirred in the marshes nearby as the dark set in and the full moon rose over the surf. 

She sat in the damp sand uncaring of the moisture that seeped through her shorts. The ocean was one of the few places she had ever felt at peace but in that moment, she felt none of the longed-for comfort from the ocean. She’d been alone for so long. Her mother had been a junkie and nearly overdosed when she was seven. She was placed in the foster care system where she’d been shuffled from home to home until she graduated from high school and aged out of the program. She’d taken the grant the state had offered her as a former foster care child and gone to college. Even there she’d not really fit in. The lack of family or of anyone truly close to her had caused a long-term ache, a pervasive loneliness that had led to depression. 

She could hear soft strains of music coming from her car’s radio in the distance. In a way, she hoped it would be stolen. Perhaps the cops would have to chase it down and then at least someone would actually be looking for her. A bitter laugh escaped her parched lips. The weights in her pockets felt heavy, they pulled at her shorts reminding her of the reason she had come to that beach. To the same stretch of sand, she had been with her mother before the last overdose, last place she’d felt any true comfort.

The song on her car’s radio changed and she finally opened her eyes, allowing the tears to spill down her cheeks. It was a song of pain and loss, echoing the pain she felt. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs uncaring of the sand. She cried, grateful for the solitude. She sat for a long time listening to the ocean. She had hoped the familiarity of the ocean would calm her anxious heart, she was torn. She wanted to end it all, the heavy weights in her shorts clear evidence of her intentions. She couldn’t really see her life improving, yet there was still a small glimmer of hope in her heart, enough that she still questioned whether this was the right course of action. 

The full moon slowly trekked across the night sky, it’s light dancing across the waves as they broke. She heard the noise of her car as it died. Either the gas finally ran out or the battery died. She sighed heavily, she was stuck there. It seemed fate had decided for her. 

A series of random splashes caught her attention. As she searched for the source of the noise the moonlight flashed on a large tail as it slipped under the water. The tail was odd, like nothing she’d ever seen before. It had scales like a fish but it was big. It looked bigger than a dolphin, closer to the size of a tiger shark. Curiosity drew her to her feet. The tail flashed again, it was horizontal like a whale, not vertical like a shark. She had spent a good amount of time at the beach as a child, and her major was in Marine Biology, and it was unlike anything she’d ever seen or researched. It was thrashing out near the sand bar. It seemed to grow frantic. 

Fishing nets…

She quickly removed her sandals and shorts and ran for the water, swimming as quickly as she could towards the sand bar. As she drew near she realized how reckless she’d been, she had no idea how to help the creature, it was dark, she had no way to free it, and it could be a predator that would not see her as a rescuer but as a meal. She hesitated for a moment treading water and bobbing up and down with the waves. The tail flashed again and she moved. It was still another ten to fifteen feet away. She swam to the sand bar where her feet finally found purchase and she could stand again. She walked slowly towards where she had last seen the tail. It flashed up out of the water briefly about five feet from her and she could see the netting wrapped around what appeared to be a secondary dorsal fin. She inched closer as she reached out slowly to untangle it.

“Stop.”

She was startled by a male voice behind her. Her feet slipped off the sand bar and she floundered for a moment. A large strong hand grabbed her by her upper arm and hauled her back up onto the sandbar. She coughed and sputtered trying to clear her mouth and nose of the saltwater. She pushed her long hair out of her face and seemingly out of nowhere she was no longer alone. A man was in the water with her. 

She laughed nervously, “You startled me. I thought I was alone out here.” Her hands twisted in her long hair as she spoke. The water had gone relatively still around them and she grew anxious. The tail of the creature was no longer thrashing. “Oh no,” she moaned softly. “I hope it’s okay.”

“What are you talking about?” His voice was deep and melodic, his accent beautiful, but unfamiliar. He sank lower in the water as he spoke, only his head and the tops of his muscular shoulders still above the dark water.

"There was something out here. I think it was caught in a net. I just wanted to help, to set it free.” She searched the water behind him looking for even a glimpse of the creature. “It was so beautiful…” The last bit came out as an afterthought, a whisper.  
“You came out here to help?” His dark eyes narrowed.

She huffed, “Yeah, I guess it was kinda reckless. I just wanted…” The tail flashed up again. “There it is! Behind you!” She moved to try and go around the stranger to help the creature. 

“Wait,” He was in front of her again. “I think perhaps you could help, your smaller hands might be able to undo some of knots. But carefully, there are hooks in the net and they’re caught on the spines and the delicate webbing between.” His hand reached for her arm in the water and slid down to her wrist, leaving goosebumps in its wake. He led her by the wrist drawing her closer to where she’d last seen the tail. “Remember the spines and the webbing between is incredibly delicate and sensitive.”

She tried to move as slowly and non-threateningly as possible. He pulled her hand through the dark water and she froze suddenly. “Wait it’s too dark. I can’t see through the water. I don’t want to accidentally hurt it.”

He smiled softly and pulled again on her wrist. “Don’t worry I can see well enough. I can guide you.”

Her fingertips brushed the tail, and she spread her fingers wide laying her palm gently on the smooth scales. It shuddered beneath her palm. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay.” She cooed, trying to soothe the injured creature. His hand released hers and they both began working to release the netting wrapped around the creature’s tail. As her hand glided over the smooth cosmoid scales she tried to think of all the research in Marine Biology she’d done. Nothing seemed to be anywhere close to the creature she was touching. It shivered as her finger brushed a hook lodged in a fin and she focused on the task at hand. “Damn fishermen,” she grumbled. “The fish will be caught in the nets. The hooks are just unnecessary.”

She slid her hand down the tail gathering the netting as she went. She wondered what the creature looked like as a whole, if was a mammal or cold blooded. The water around them was slightly cool and the creature’s body seemed warm beneath her fingertips, suggesting it was likely a mammal. She felt the stranger’s hand brush hers as they worked together. As she reached the secondary dorsal fin he took the gathered netting from her. She worked carefully to pull a hook out without causing more damage to the delicate spine. “How many more hooks?”

“One more in that fin, two in the fin on the right side and three in the tail fin.” His voice was low and pained. She removed the hooks in the dorsal fin and moved to what felt like a small pelvic fin, running her fingers gently over the webbing between the spines as she finished to be certain she had not damaged the delicate webbing. The tail trembled.

“Carefully!” He hissed at her. “Remember the spines and webbing are very sensitive.”

Together they got the netting to the end of the tail and she gently pulled the last of the hooks free. He seemed loathed to touch it once it was removed from the creature’s tail. She held the weight of the netting and as it was finally loose the creature skittered away from them, likely back into the depths of the ocean. A small smile crept unto her face as she watched out into vast expanse of ocean, it was free. Like she longed to be. The netting was heavy and the hooks pricked at her arms. Some of her earlier melancholy returned and she found herself hugging the netting tighter, the hooks digging into the flesh of her arms. She should swim it up to shore to make certain it wouldn’t hurt another innocent creature. It felt heavier than the weights still the pockets of her shorts on the shore. Part of her wanted to wrap herself in it, to move off the sand bar into the deeper part of the ocean, to let the weight of it drag her to the ocean floor.

“Stop.” His voice was as gentle as his hand on her shoulder. She had almost forgotten that she wasn’t alone. “You’re hurting yourself.” He pulled a little at her arms trying to loosen her damaging grip on the netting. 

She looked down, she couldn’t see into the water, but she could feel the saltwater burning where a few of the hooks had cut into her skin. She was fortunate he had spoken when he did, none of the hooks had actually gotten stuck in her flesh. She huffed out a small bitter laugh, the small cuts from the hooks would hardly be noticeable amidst the myriad of self-inflicted scars that littered her arms. She sighed and turned away from him. Another time then, she wasn’t alone so her self-destructive plans would have to wait. 

“Thank you for helping me,” she said softly. She turned back to face him, he was treading water about five feet away from her. She realized from his position he had likely been treading the whole time they were helping the creature. The tide was coming in and soon the water over the sand bar would be so deep she’d be swimming too. “I guess we should get this to shore. I’d burn the damn thing if it weren’t so wet.” 

“But you will destroy it so that it cannot be used to harm others?” 

“Of course.” She nodded and pushed off the sand bar headed towards shore. The weight of the netting pulled her low in the water as she struggled to swim and carry it. 

He chuckled and swam in front of her. “Here, why don’t you let me carry it until you can get your feet under you. I am perhaps a bit stronger than you.” He reached out and took it though she could tell he was repulsed by it. 

They tread water there for a moment as he took the netting. It was the first time she’d really had a chance to look at him. He was gorgeous. His hair was dark and slicked back from the water but looked to be full of curls when dry. His eyes were large and dark green in the moonlight, his shoulders broad and muscled. She looked back at his face and she could tell by his grin he’d caught her ogling him. 

Blood rushed to her cheeks and she tried to swim passed him. He moved quickly even with the net and stopped in front of her. “Do you find me attractive little one?” He was very close, his bare arms still holding the net almost touching her. 

“Dude, personal space.” She floated back a bit. “Two things, One, I’m not little, not in height or age. Two, I think that’s a relatively personal question for you to ask me. I don’t even know your name.”

His brow furrowed. “You’re concerned over how closely we swim, yet you wish to know my name. You’re odd.” 

“Whatever be a mysterious stranger. We should get that net to shore.” They swam back in silence. When her feet finally reached bottom, she sighed in relief. She was growing tired, she hadn’t slept well the previous night and the night’s events wore on her. She trudged up to the beach, she was in the shallows before she realized he was no longer beside her. She looked back and saw he was still in shoulder high water with a look of worry on his face. She started walking back to him. “Hey, are you okay?”

He gave her an odd crooked smile. “I think perhaps I will be. Might I ask a boon of you?”

She struggled for a moment with the old-fashioned word. “A favor?”

He nodded.

“Okay, I guess.” 

“First, would you mind taking this to shore yourself?” He held the netting away from his body. They were less than 20-25 feet from shore but she shrugged and took it anyway. She dragged the net up high on the beach so that it wouldn’t be caught by the incoming tide and pulled back out. She walked back towards him and stood in waist deep water with her hands on her hips. “Okay, what else?” 

His eyes slid over her body and despite the fact she was wearing a tank top, bra and underwear, she felt naked before him. His gaze stopped on her upper arm and she knew immediately what he was looking at, not her self-inflicted scars, though sadly those would have been easier to explain. She moved quickly into deeper water to hide the odd birthmark. “It’s just a--”

“You need not explain it to me.” He held his hands up placatingly. “I imagine you were born with it. Your physicians called it odd but harmless.”

She was mute with shock.

“Have you ever heard the term kindred souls?” She shook her head. “Perhaps you were correct, we should exchange names.” He paused for a moment and stared down at the dark water. “My birth name has no true equivalent in your language.” He looked up and blinked oddly, as he swallowed his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You may call me Loki.”

With his odd accent the sound of his name was like water trickling over stones, and it made her heart stutter. He made the exchange of names seem more intimate than a kiss between lovers. She felt herself drawn to him. “Loki?” she asked trying to use the same inflection. 

A tiny sigh slipped between his lips as he reached for her hand to draw her closer. “To hear my name from your beautiful lips is a wonder. And your name?”

She swallowed thickly, “Kamah, but everyone calls me Kam.” 

“Kamah,” he repeated and her heart did a tiny flip when he said her name. “Kindred souls is similar to the idea of soulmates.”

“Okay,” she said with a bit of skepticism. 

“Do you not believe in soulmates?” He asked quietly.

“Ummm… not really? I’ve always felt that people should be free to make their own destiny and ‘soulmates’ make it seem like people can’t make their own choices.”

The smile slipped from his face. “I am about to reveal something you may find quite unbelievable. But I promise I will never lie to you.”

Something big brushed her leg and she jumped. “Holy crap!” She exclaimed and laughed nervously. “Maybe we should go sit on the beach and talk.”

He sighed, “Yes, perhaps that would be best. Could I ask the other portion of my boon?” She nodded. “Would you mind going up on the beach, and closing your eyes?”

A blush darkened her cheeks. Her eyes trailed down his neck and broad shoulders to where the water started high on his chest. “Are you naked?” the whispered thought slipped out. Her hands flew up to her mouth as though to catch the wayward words. 

“Would you find that pleasing?” His hand reached through the water and took hers. “I confess I would very much like to see you in a similar state of undress.” His hand ghosted across her cheek and her eyes slipped shut. 

The tide was coming in and if they didn’t move to shore or at least closer to it she would be forced to tread water again. Her eyelashes fluttered open and his almost other-worldly beauty nearly took her breath away. He was tall in front of her, his head almost perfectly blocking the moon, creating a soft glow-y halo effect around his dark hair. His eyes were large and dark, he had high sharp cheekbones and thin but soft looking lips.

“Loki, I--” the rest of her sentence was cut off as a larger wave crashed over them both. She tumbled backwards head over heels, the force of the water disorienting her. She lost top from bottom and flailed for far too long, her lungs screaming for oxygen. Suddenly Loki’s hands were on her waist and thrust her towards the surface holding her above the water as she gasped and sputtered. She had drifted deeper in the water as she had flailed and he held her steadily as she recovered. She coughed and struggled to push her tangled hair away from her face. 

When she finally cleared her throat, and got the hair out of her face she looked up to see him grinning widely at her. She batted his hands away as she swam towards the shallows, her face red with embarrassment. Her feet touched the sand finally and she mumbled without looking back, “Okay yeah, I’ll go wait up on the beach.”

**Author's Note:**

> I guess I'm dipping my toes back in fanfiction... I lost my computer to a very nasty virus and was without one for nearly two years. I lost so many in-progress fics. I hope this can kind of help me slide back in to the groove of writing. I think it will only be a 2 or 3 chapter fic. Please leave comments, I'm doubting myself alot right now because it's been forever since I've written anything and now I'm rereading my old stuff and seriously doubting my skills... Sorry I know this sounds needy and whiny, but I guess that's kind of where I am right now. Thank you for reading this!


End file.
